RENOWNED Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe has praised the Confederation of African Football referees’ committee for the exposure.

Sikazwe who is the only Zambian referee at the ongoing Gabon 2017 AFCON said the capacity building trainings were a motivation for referees to perform at the highest level.

“I would like to thank the CAF referees’ committee as well as its executive for the exposure and training it is giving to referees in Africa. This will go a long way in improving the officiating of football on the continent especially with the introduction of the new rules to the game,” he said.

He said African referees were now able to perform at the highest standards and compete with referees from other continents.

Sikazwe said African referees were now working towards making Africa a beacon of good officiating standards in football.

Sikazwe officiated at the 2012 AFCON finals co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and eventually won by the Chipolopolo.

He later officiated at the 2013 and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments in South Africa and Equatorial Guinea, respectively.

The Kapiri Mposhi based teacher, who doubles as a referee, also represented the country at the FIFA 2015 Under-17 World Cup tournament in Chile.

Sikazwe has also been shortlisted to officiate at the 2018 Russia World Cup.